…we will be forced to reduce employment at IAH as a direct result of the Mayor’s and Council’s action. We expect job loss will begin this fall and occur over time, and we will do all we can to mitigate the impact through voluntary programs and relocation to other jobs across the system.

In the same bulletin United also announced the cancellation of its planned service from Houston to Auckland, New Zealand. United executives had said in the weeks leading up to the vote there would be a 10 percent reduction in its planned capacity — that is, current and planned routes — if Hobby expansion were approved.

The Council vote on Wednesday also throws into “significant doubt” whether United will complete its $700 million share of a joint city-United expansion of Terminal B at Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to the bulletin. United has already broken ground on the first phase, to which it has committed $100 million.

Mayor Annise Parker addressed the prospect of job losses at her post-Council news conference. She said:

I’ll wait to see that they do that. I think United is committed to this city and that they’re going to do their best to continue to grow jobs here in Houston. We already know that we provide a much more competitive environment in terms of cost of living and work force than any of their other hub areas. They committed early on that we would be the largest hub in the largest airline in the world, and that’s the commitment I expect them to keep.

She also said she believes United will maintain its investment at IAH by bringing more flights here, not reducing them.

She added:

They’ve stated continuously that they welcome competition. That competition is at least three years away. So for United to say there are going to be 1,300 people laid off next week or so, that’s just not reasonable. Because nothing is going to happen until that terminal is built. There’s no competition today. So any decisions they make in terms of personnel are based on other things, not the vote we cast today.